TIFFIN, Ohio — With the holidays right around the corner, one area glass artist is not only offering products as a gift, but experiences in the art form as well.
What started as a passion project for Ryan Poignon has grown into a full-blown holiday business. He started selling handmade glass ornaments out of his garage before opening his own art studio and gallery, The Poignon Project, in 2015.
Now the ornaments are his top seller.
"People I know my age don't collect glass," Poignon said. "So to see the community come back and get excited about glass being made in our community is absolutely the full purpose of this."
When Poignon started his career as a glass artist, his grandmother gave him the idea of making annual Christmas ornaments.
"I love the tradition of giving, the ornaments and how an ornament can sum up a year for somebody," he said.
For those who want to put their own personal touch on an ornament, Poignon also offers glass-blowing classes as part of his mission to bring the love of glass back to Tiffin.
Through the glass-blowing classes, individuals, couples, families or groups of up to six people can get a hands-on lesson in the practice. Poignon hopes the classes can at best be the beginning of a new hobby or career as a glass artist or at least instill a greater appreciation of the art.
"Glass is one of those that's really hard to get into, you need somebody to pass that information down to you," he said. And it's become a big tradition. We have families that sign up a year in advance just to come into our classes."
The Poignon Project offers glass products online, where you can also sign up for glass-blowing classes.